Winter Salt

[RB's]

How often do you rinse off the cruiser after you've been running around in the slush all day? We STILL haven't had any real snow here, but they put down salt at the slightest hint of it.

I've been running our cars through the car-wash stall at our town-house complex everyday after we drive them. It's got pressurized hot water and I think the 5 minutes it takes to completely rinse off the vehicles top and bottom is worth it.

I'm not from these northern environs so am I just being rectal intensive about this, or is it useful? Thoughts? :confused:

[MoeB]

Assuming that stall is free, can't go wrong there.

[John@CdnRockies]

Can't fault a person for looking after their car. However, I only manage it once a week - albeit in a largely "no salt" city like Calgary in Alberta. By the sounds of it your car will last forever from a body perspective.:D

John

[BillAileo]

I don't know whether this is actually true, but I have been told that many car wash facilities are required to use recylced filtered water that may well contain dissolved salts. You might want to find out exactly what you are spraying before concluding repeated use will be a long term plus.

Bill

[ncoonen]

I have a three month old '06 XC70 that I've washed several times but can't do it every day. The Chicago, IL area expressways have more salt than Bonneville and it seems like a hopeless endeavour to keep your car salt free from November through March. My new car is black which makes the problem even more obvious. Looks great when it's clean...but it's only clean for 20 minutes at a time.

I have another story about another Volvo to add, however. My wife has driven a '94 850 since it was new in January 1994. It's her year-around daily commuter. We tried very hard to keep it pristine when it was new but gave up after a while. There was just too much salt everywhere so even daily washings weren't enough. So, it got just the occasional wash year around. But here's the punchline - that cars undercarriage and body are absolutely rust and corrosion free after 11 years and 115,000 miles. Except for the original exhaust system, which has rusted, the underside looks new. I am very impressed with that compared to our 2003 Chevrolet Silverado which is getting rusty underneath after three years. I have every reason to expect the same from the new XC70 so I don't worry so much about the winter salt. My plan is to keep it as clean as I can and attend to scratches before they begin to corrode.

...ned.

[RB's]

I don't know whether this is actually true, but I have been told that many car wash facilities are required to use recylced filtered water that may well contain dissolved salts. Bill

Our's is just an enclosed stall built into an underground garage, from what I can tell, both the hot and cold feeds directly from the central pipes and boiler. There are no "Caution" don't drink signs. Hope not, I've had plenty of drinks from the spigot! :D

[budrichard]

Never ever worry about it! The Volvo XC's are serviced every 7.5K miles(Mobil One) and the Dealership washes them weather permitting. No problems.-Dick

[tgwillard]

My wife's first Volvo, a 1990 model 240 she purchased new in 1992 looked as good as the day we first got it when she traded it for her 2005 S80. I would wash it when the weather was warm enough, but for most of the winter (NE PA) it would just be dirty. Our mechanic told us how rust free the undercarriage was. Cannot say the same thing for my Ford Ranger, which I traded on my 2006 XC70.

I would not worry too much about washing. And in cold weather, the road salt does not attack metal as much as in warmer weather. So with that in mind, give it a quick rinse whenever it gets up to 40 degrees or so during the winter.

[RB's]

Ya know if the vehicle were parked out in the cold every night I wouldn't worry too much about it. Problem is, all of em are stored in a heated (50-60 degree) garage every night. It gives the ol NaCl lots of time to work if I leave em wet with slush.

The advances in anti-rust penetration are pretty darn good, my Beemer is guaranteed for 6 years, the Benz for 10 (actually had some along the lower edges of a door :eek: but it was covered). Who knows about the Ford?
I still see rusted out buckets chugging along the roads here ( some of them used to be really nice cars) and I guess it's the visual that gets me thinking :D

I appreciate all the thoughts folks!

[volvoshad]

I
I have another story about another Volvo to add, however. My wife has driven a '94 850 since it was new in January 1994. It's her year-around daily commuter. We tried very hard to keep it pristine when it was new but gave up after a while. There was just too much salt everywhere so even daily washings weren't enough. So, it got just the occasional wash year around. But here's the punchline - that cars undercarriage and body are absolutely rust and corrosion free after 11 years and 115,000 miles. Except for the original exhaust system, which has rusted, the underside looks new. I am very impressed with that compared to our 2003 Chevrolet Silverado which is getting rusty underneath after three years. I have every reason to expect the same from the new XC70 so I don't worry so much about the winter salt. My plan is to keep it as clean as I can and attend to scratches before they begin to corrode.

...ned.

My experience is similar. I think Volvo got the anti-corrosion stuff right with the FWD/AWD cars. My two former 850s were totally rust free on the sheet metal, and my current 5 year old XC doesn't have any rust at all - even the suspension bolts have little rust on them; truly amazing.[thumbup] And I will point out that I do not hesitate to drive in the winter, and just can't wash the cars all the time.

[Mitch]

I've hooked up hot water in the garage and I pressure wash in the winter in the driveway. My driveway has the winter sun full fledge all day and the small amount of water makes it melt no problem. I also picked up a 45deg for the pressure washer which permits me to wash down the undercarriage.

I think though that last year I ran the water a bit too hot and when it hit my windshield, it accelerated a small chip into a large crack.

The temp is typically -15C here in the winter and I have no issues washing, then parking in the garage after.

-Mitch
04 XC70
99 Passat 1.8T
69 Triumph GT6+